Travel

With the news breaking that Aeroplan will be replaced as Air Canada's loyalty program in 2020 - its future has become increasingly uncertain.

We know the program will continue on after 2020, your miles are 100% safe, and there will still be some options for redeeming on industry leading airlines, one of which could still be Air Canada. That is what has been promised.

What we don't know is how the reward choices, flight redemption options, and reward value will change after 2020...

Will it still remain a true airline rewards program?

Will they find a new airline partner?

OR ...

Will it become more of a flexible travel rewards program like what bank travel credit cards tend to offer?

Ultimately, what everyone wants to know is "what are my miles worth today?", "what will they be worth after 2020?", and "is Aeroplan still worth it?".

Here you'll find a concrete answer to the first question, my predictions on the second, and a discussion about the third.

Coupon Books

Air Canada just dropped a big bombshell by announcing that they are clipping Aeroplan's wings by removing it as their official rewards program in 2020.

Aeroplan was in fact an invention of Air Canada themselves but was first spun off as a separate company and then completely sold to Amia in 2008. Since then, they've walked hand in hand and have been practically indistinguishable from one another. That's about to change... but is it a good or bad thing for Aeroplan collectors?

There are no guarantees, but what is guaranteed is that this will create increased competition as Aeroplan works hard to keep the loyalty of its members and Air Canada wrestles to take them away. That fight is going to spill over into the credit card arena as well and you can expect sign up bonuses and perks to take off as we get closer to that date.

Through all of this, Aeroplan is committing to keeping your miles safe and allowing you to continue redeeming them for flights on Air Canada even after the 2020 deadline. What could change is the cost in miles for doing so. I expect the cost will increase substantially, so if you want to fly Air Canada or Star Alliance, you should try and redeem most of your miles before 2020.

Even though Air Canada flight rewards will likely become less desirable, that doesn't necessarily mean that Aeroplan will become less valuable overall. They will be working hard to find a good alternatives to Air Canada that won't get them universally panned by the critics and create a ton of bad press for them.

It's time to strap in, because this is going to be a bumpy and exciting ride!

Aeroplan Credit Cards Compared and Ranked for 2017

Who has the best Aeroplan branded credit card? Is it TD, CIBC, or American Express?

You might be surprised to find out that the top card for earning Aeroplan miles doesn't even have Aeroplan in its name. That's because there are several cards that allow you to earn points that can be transferred to Aeroplan miles that actually boosts the value of your rewards!

Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) is an incredibly flexible travel rewards program that allows consumers to earn “Starpoints” to use on either their next hotel stay or a plethora of other attractive rewards.

In fact, it’s my all time favourite travel rewards program that I once used to fly Maria and I to Paris for 10 days with most of the airfare and hotel expenses paid just with Starpoints.

1) Car Rentals

Travel hacking is like some sort of mystical promised land flowing with milk and honey…

It portrays a life spent floating in first class suites in the sky, free gourmet food and drinks galore, and unlimited hotel upgrades to fancy hotel rooms complete with turn down service and a chocolate on your pillow every night - all practically free - *sigh*...

The truth is, achieving all of that is a lot of work and requires jumping through all kinds of hoops. Many beginners get put off by the crazy language barrier (hello acronyms!), the insane points strategies, and the attention to detail it takes to pull it all off.

She even took me to Salzburg, where I thought I died and went to heaven. It was that breathtaking.

Now my auntie works as a registered nurse in a palliative unit for as long as she’s lived in Vienna. She probably had enough vacation days to take a month off if she wanted to. But there was no need for her to do that. I didn't need any hand-holding for a month...

After about a week, I was ready to explore Vienna on my own. Their public transportation wasn't tough to crack.

Vacation Budget Travels

This is no stunning revelation. But vehicles cost a lot of money to maintain.

Things like insurance, fuel, parking, tires, maintenance and repairs can add up at an accelerated rate.

One way to keep your monthly costs low is to find an alternative to owning a vehicle.

When I was in university I owned a vehicle but only had it insured during the summer months. This meant I didn’t have to pay for vehicle costs for about 8 months of the year and was able to save big.

At that time I had no choice - I was a student with little to no income, so I had to cut costs where I could. Even today, after graduating, I still try to drive as little as possible as I know vehicles can be expensive, especially with the rising cost of fuel.

Mr. Money Mustache, a Canadian-born engineer who retired at 30 and now lives in the United States, explains that vehicles are costly for most of us and advocates using a vehicle as little as possible.

6 Alternatives To Cut Your Costs

Petro-Canada offers the Petro-Points loyalty program. Members can collect points and exchange them for fuel, car repair and store purchases at any of the 1,500 Suncor branded gas stations.

There is no annual membership fee associated with the Petro-Points program. Sign up at a station to receive a card immediately. Signing up online gives the option to print a temporary card until one arrives in the mail. In each instance, an online account will need to be created and the card number registered. Rewards are redeemed using the online account.

Here’s everything you need to know about collecting Petro-points with Petro-Canada.